IPL 2010 Watching from Youtube
The third Indian Premier League season (IPL3) starts in Hyderabad on 12 March 2010, when last years champions the Deccan Chargers will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first of 60 matches.
As ever, controversy follows the IPL even before a ball has been bowled. We might have expected that as Pakistan are the current World T20 champions, their players would have been hot property at the player auction in January. But, not one of them was signed up and its still not clear why. Perhaps India - Pakistan politics played a part, maybe the team owners got cold feet over a potential lack of Visas for the players, or did Pakistan's total loss of recent form just make them poor value for money?
New features this year include a third place play off, and the options of two and a half minute strategic time outs for the fielding captain between overs 6 and 10, and for the batting side between overs 11 and 16. But, will the time-outs be an advantage for the players or TV advertisers?
Other new ideas included a US$7 million cap at the player auction, and abandonment of the icon player status so that the superstars of the Indian national side don't have to play for their home city.
The top auction price of $750,000 was paid by Kolkata Knight Riders for Shane Bond, and by the Mumbai Indians for Kieron Pollard. But, I think that Bangalore Royal Challengers might have got the best deal by snapping up Eoin Morgan for $220,000.The biggest new feature of IPL3 is that it will be seen free on YouTube. It will be the first major sporting event to be streamed online and live on this platform, and is a 2 year partnership between Google India and the BCCI. This is a win-win for all concerned - the global cricket audience, internet advertisers, IPL sponsors, and Google with estimated unique visitors of around 11 Million.
The live streaming might even catch the imagination of the USA, where the ICC has advised cricket officials in America to install an IPL model to capitalise on the Twenty20 boom and generate funds for the game's grassroot development in the USA. The Times quotes Lalit Modi as saying, "We hope to be able to provide the fans in the US the live experience of the IPL. We will start with a few matches in the US in the next 18 months or so".
Cricket has traditionally found it difficult to break into the land of Baseball outside the expat communities. But, if any aspect of cricket can compete with the razzmatazz of US sport, it's the sheer flamboyance of the IPL, so watch this space.The TV companies covering the tournament are already grumbling about loss of their media rights. However, the usual transmission issues surrounding live streaming may still mean that TV is the best place to watch IPL3 on the sub-continent. The rest of us might just be able to put up with the odd glitches in buffering and picture quality, just to be a part of the biggest cricket tournament in the world.
As ever, controversy follows the IPL even before a ball has been bowled. We might have expected that as Pakistan are the current World T20 champions, their players would have been hot property at the player auction in January. But, not one of them was signed up and its still not clear why. Perhaps India - Pakistan politics played a part, maybe the team owners got cold feet over a potential lack of Visas for the players, or did Pakistan's total loss of recent form just make them poor value for money?
New features this year include a third place play off, and the options of two and a half minute strategic time outs for the fielding captain between overs 6 and 10, and for the batting side between overs 11 and 16. But, will the time-outs be an advantage for the players or TV advertisers?
Other new ideas included a US$7 million cap at the player auction, and abandonment of the icon player status so that the superstars of the Indian national side don't have to play for their home city.
The top auction price of $750,000 was paid by Kolkata Knight Riders for Shane Bond, and by the Mumbai Indians for Kieron Pollard. But, I think that Bangalore Royal Challengers might have got the best deal by snapping up Eoin Morgan for $220,000.The biggest new feature of IPL3 is that it will be seen free on YouTube. It will be the first major sporting event to be streamed online and live on this platform, and is a 2 year partnership between Google India and the BCCI. This is a win-win for all concerned - the global cricket audience, internet advertisers, IPL sponsors, and Google with estimated unique visitors of around 11 Million.
The live streaming might even catch the imagination of the USA, where the ICC has advised cricket officials in America to install an IPL model to capitalise on the Twenty20 boom and generate funds for the game's grassroot development in the USA. The Times quotes Lalit Modi as saying, "We hope to be able to provide the fans in the US the live experience of the IPL. We will start with a few matches in the US in the next 18 months or so".
Cricket has traditionally found it difficult to break into the land of Baseball outside the expat communities. But, if any aspect of cricket can compete with the razzmatazz of US sport, it's the sheer flamboyance of the IPL, so watch this space.The TV companies covering the tournament are already grumbling about loss of their media rights. However, the usual transmission issues surrounding live streaming may still mean that TV is the best place to watch IPL3 on the sub-continent. The rest of us might just be able to put up with the odd glitches in buffering and picture quality, just to be a part of the biggest cricket tournament in the world.
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